Churchill Downs, Santa Anita Hosting Their Own Belmont Stakes Events

Thoroughbred tracks across the country are organizing events around Saturday's Belmont Stakes, with Churchill Downs planning to "focus its massive video screen" on the N.Y. race. The first 1,000 fans at Churchill "will receive a voucher for a free California Chrome T-shirt" (COURIER-JOURNAL.com, 6/5).

Meanwhile, Santa Anita execs "hope a crowd of 30,000, one of the largest of the season, will show up Saturday to watch the Belmont on TV screens." The California venue is offering "Chrome Zone" ticket packages and "giving away T-shirts and commemorative pins – as well as nose strips." Santa Anita "envisions big crowds" if California Chrome "races again at the track," which could occur at the Breeders' Cup this fall (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 6/6).